


Early Morning, Late Night

by noodroid



Series: All These Colors [3]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Fluff so much fluff, M/M, and cute minnie getting there eventually, just cute hyunnie falling in love, will i ever write hyunjin as anything but sweet n romantic? no
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 13:12:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16556411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noodroid/pseuds/noodroid
Summary: ♡ A Hyunjin/Seungmin Love Story♡ Have you ever fallen in love? Hwang Hyunjin did. Hwang Hyunjin, in fact, still is. But Kim Seungmin? Well, he's an oblivious boy that's more difficult than Pride & Prejudice to read. So here's the story of how two boys grew up and fell in love, just a few moments at a time.





	Early Morning, Late Night

Kim Seungmin does not understand what the meaning of the word 'fast' is. He takes his time at everything. He excels because of this. Even as carefully as he goes, he finds himself surpassing all those around him. It makes everyone uncomfortable, if they're being honest.  
  
Hwang Hyunjin is the exact opposite. Everything he does is quick. He finishes his exams quickly, he ignores his homework quickly, and he grows tall quickly. He dances quickly, with so much passion, that most people don't understand him.  
  
Hyunjin, above all, falls in love quickly with Seungmin.  
  
Seungmin, however, does not.

 

It begins in Seungmin's first year at a new middle school. He's a year from transferring to high school, alone most of the time, and honestly? He prefers it.  
  
For now, Seungmin sits alone in the room during lunch, eating his prepared food with careful bites while reading. His long, slender fingers move the pages of his book carefully. His eyes never wander, even as people start filling the classroom back up.  
  
It's only when Jisung, a short boy with big cheeks and a sunshine grin, slams his hands down onto the table that Seungmin does look up. The short boy just grins at the other, waiting for a response.  
  
"I'm busy today, Jisung. Please bother someone else."  
  
There's a pout that falls upon Jisung's lips. His bottom lip juts out. A lanky arm wraps itself around his shoulder in response to this, a tall boy grinning at the two now.  
  
"C'mon, Ji. Leave Minnie--"  
  
"I've asked you not to call me that, Hyunjin."  
  
"Alone. He doesn't want to play with you. You know he thinks you're annoying."  
  
"I never said he was annoying. I just have to finish this book."  
  
"You know he thinks everyone is annoying."  
  
Seungmin sighs, putting down the remnants of his sandwich. He places a bookmark carefully between the pages, moves the book into his bag, and then looks up at the other two boys. "What do you both want? I'm not really in the mood for your weird form of bullying."  
  
Jisung looks honestly taken aback at this. Hyunjin, however, just grins like a predator who finally found it's prey.  
  
"Bullying? That's rude. We just want to be your friend." Hyunjin moves his hands to the sides of the table, scooting Jisung out of the way with a hip. He leans close in to Seungmin, but the other doesn't back down.  
  
"We want to be your friend, Seungmin."  
  
Jisung watches with a worried look, now seeming concerned. He pushes Hyunjin out of the way and looks back at Seungmin with an apologetic smile. "He's just mad that you said he was annoying last week!"  
  
"He's called me annoying since he moved here this year, Jisung. That's nothing new."  
  
"Then is it that I called you a bully, Hyunjin? It's what you are."  
  
Hyunjin turns to eye Seungmin up and down, frowning. It's only when he catches Seungmin's careful, blank stare that he smiles now.  
  
"Maybe. You could be a little nicer to people, you know."  
  
"I've thought I was being nice. I didn't realize I wasn't."  
  
The careful, blank stare is replaced only momentarily with a flicker of worry behind dark brown eyes. Seungmin's eyebrows barely move, but Hyunjin sees it.  
  
He sees the sincerity in the strange boy who called him annoying the first week they met.  
  
"Seungmin," Hyunjin says, very carefully. He turns his whole body to face the other now. Jisung shifts on the balls of his feet, worrying. "Kim Seungmin, would you like to come hang out with Jisung and I this weekend?"

 

  
Seungmin, now a junior in high school with cherry red hair and height to rival Hyunjin's, stabs a piece of pork that rests temptingly on the plate next to him. He steals it away swiftly, ignoring the "Hey!" that accompanies the action, and pops it into his mouth. He chews slowly, thoughtfully, before grabbing a napkin and spitting it out.  
  
"Gross," he states, very matter of factually. "It's overcooked."  
  
"Seriously? You stole the biggest piece, Seungmin!" Jisung reaches out to grab one of the rolls off the offender's plate. He stops as a pair of chopsticks grab at a finger.  
  
"I will eat your finger, Han Jisung."  
  
Hyunjin, seated across from the two at the cafeteria table, scoffs gently. He watches with plain amusement as they fight like this, as usual. Seungmin can't help but annoy Jisung; Jisung, unfortunately, cannot resist the bait. They bicker like an old married couple, or so Hyunjin thinks.  
  
If there's a pang of jealousy in his heart, what does that matter?  
  
"You two are so annoying," Hyunjin muses, taking Seungmin's unbranded yogurt drink and downing it. He slaps away the red head's hand as it comes to grab at him, slamming down the small, now emptied container. "That's what you get for being obnoxious at lunch!"  
  
"Isn't it me that's supposed to call you two that?" Seungmin pouts. He rolls his eyes and flicks his hair from his face, staring daggers at Hyunjin. "I bought that this morning with my allowance!"  
  
"Yeah, cry me a river, Kim."  
  
Jisung, mouth full of food, nudges Seungmin. "You should have bought us some!"  
  
"Gross, Ji. Don't chew with your mouth full."  
  
"Whatever, buy me a drink next time!"  
  
"I'll buy Hyunjin a drink next time, but not you! You're too gross. I could never be nice to you when you act like this."  
  
Jisung swallows his food, pouting at Seungmin. The red head drapes an arm around the smaller's shoulders, grinning brightly. He pulls him in closer to him, nudging them together with their shoulders.  
  
Hyunjin feels that pang in his heart again. And again. And again.

It's a week before exams start for juniors. Seungmin sits in Hyunjin's bed, basketball shorts and oversize t shirt on as an excuse for pyjamas. Hyunjin sits in his computer chair, staring with much focus at his textbook.  
  
"What extracurricular are you taking next year, Jin?"  
  
The question snaps the taller out of his trance. He eyes Seungmin carefully, unsure of how he should approach the question. It sounds like a trap.  
  
To be fair, most questions from Kim Seungmin to Hwang Hyunjin were loaded traps.  
  
"Why?" he asks in response, careful. Seungmin's carefully blank face brings him back to the few years ago where the chubby cheeked boy called him annoying and admitted he thought his stoic honesty was friendly.  
  
"I'm taking singing lessons."  
  
"Really? Outside of school? That's cool. You love to sing."  
  
"Yeah... I heard you tried out at Minho's dance academy. I wasn't supposed to tell, Minho and Felix said it was a secret. But they both suck at secrets, so..."  
  
Hyunjin scoffs through his nose. The breath pushes his head back gently as his chest rises.  
  
Seungmin arches an eyebrow. "So?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Jisung tried out, too. He wants to be multi-talented or something."  
  
"Anybody told him he is yet?"  
  
"You know how he is."  
  
"Anyway, back to you, Hwang Hyunjin."  
  
Hyunjin puts his textbook on the desk in front of him. He shrugs, looking at Seungmin. "I want to take dance in college. If I can't become a dancer, I want to teach dance."  
"Like Minho? That seems so cool."  
  
"Yeah. Felix, too. He does that special program with school, he says it's really hard though. Minho had to help him audition, then there's all these extra classes on top of his regular ones, and he has to apply to all these college programs and--"  
  
Seungmin closes his book and climbs off the bed. He stands, walking over to Hyunjin, and grabs his hands.  
  
There's no careful blankness on his face. Now, there's some kind of hope and an emotion that Hyunjin doesn't recognize.  
  
"Hyunjin, I hope you know that you're an incredibly talented dancer and also an incredibly smart dude. If anyone can do the program as well as Felix, it's you."  
  
Hyunjin feels himself turn red. The blush spreads rapidly from his face to the tips of his ears. It travels down his face, down his neck, and he can feel even his shoulders get hot.  
Seungmin separates their hands and claps his hands gently against the other's cheeks. He cups them, then squishes Hyunjin's cheeks together to force him to make a face. He leans in close, closer, and then so their noses are touching.  
  
"You may be annoying as all hell, but you're also talented as all hell. Both you and Jisung need to gain some confidence in what you can do. If you need help, you ask me, got it?"  
  
Seungmin forces Hyunjin to nod his head. He releases his face with an unceremonious pat on the hair, grinning at the older.  
  
"Idiot."  
  
Hyunjin's heart beats so quickly he thinks Minho can probably hear it all the way on his vacation in Japan.

 

Hyunjin reads the text repeatedly, each time worrying that he wasn't reading it correctly. He stares at it with wide eyes, before locking his phone and putting it back up.  
  
_I miss you._  
  
From Seungmin. From Kim Seungmin, who he's barely seen since the second week of their senior year other than in school. Kim Seungmin, who he used to hang out with after school and during the summer daily, apparently missed him. On top of that, he wasn't afraid to just admit it.  
  
_School started six weeks ago. We've barely hung out. When are you next free?_  
  
Hyunjin stares at the second message, a lump forming in his chest. His schedule was all but clear, of course. He sends a quick reply. He doesn't really know what to say.  
  
_Tell Minho he doesn't get to have lunch with next Saturday between classes. I'm taking you. We have to catch up._  
  
His heartbeat speeds up so much that he's pretty sure it's gonna fly out of his chest. Most nights they spend messaging one another, discussing the latest memes or happenings in their lives. Six weeks of maybe four or five nights out with Seungmin-- and Jisung, Hyunjin quickly adds-- wasn't enough.  
  
But Seungmin told him at the start of the semester that he understood, that he was proud of him for going after what he wanted.  
  
Suddenly remembering Seungmin's face just a little too close to his, staring him down, that look of something he couldn't place, his heart nearly flies out of his chest for real. He takes a deep breath, attempting to steady himself.  
  
He sends a text to Minho telling him that he wasn't going to join them for their weekly lunch break together.  
  
_Go get 'em, tiger._ is all that Minho texts back.  
  
Hyunjin falls asleep thinking about what that's supposed to mean.

 

The week passes quickly. When Seungmin shows up the dance studio, Minho greets him with a bone-crushing hug. Seungmin stares up at the ceiling in dramatics, mumbling a soft, "Hey, Min." as his breath is squeezed out.  
  
"Ah, Seungie, I'll be right there!" Hyunjin smiles at Seungmin, waving a hand at him. "I just have to go get changed."  
  
When Hyunjin comes back, Seungmin and Minho are in deep conversation. They stop as soon as they spot Hyunjin, Seungmin smiling at Minho in a way that makes Hyunjin sure he's keeping a secret.  
  
The secret isn't hidden for very long, though. As soon as they're seated at the table of the small cafe Hyunjin has raved about for months, Seungmin drops a bomb.  
  
"Did you know Jisung and Minho are dating?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Oh, Minho didn't ask me to keep it a secret. He was talking about it and was surprised I didn't know. They started going out a few weeks ago."  
  
Hyunjin puts down his menu, frowning. "No... Why didn't Jisung tell us?"  
  
"He was probably worried. Which is stupid."  
  
"Right? We're his friends."  
  
"Well, there's that."  
  
"What else would there be?" Hyunjin asks, softly, suddenly feeling very, very worried.  
  
Seungmin puts down his menu as well, staring with eyebrows knit at the other. For the very first time in his life, Hyunjin sees a blush crawl over his cheeks and spread to the tips of his ears. It's soft, pink, and Hyunjin fights the urge to do... Well, something cheesy and romantic.  
  
"Do you really not know, Hyunjin?" Seungmin asks, voice soft and low. He looks away, the same look that he had the night Hyunjin felt insecure playing on his face.  
  
"Know what?"  
  
"God, you really are an idiot. Minho said you didn't know but I didn't believe him."  
  
"Are you dying?"  
  
"You're-- You're infuriating, Hwang Hyunjin. You're obnoxious! Annoying! All this time, for this past year, I thought you felt the same way."  
  
Hyunjin's voice raises two octaves as he nearly yells, "What?!"  
  
"Hwang Hyunjin, you absolute buffoon, I am in love with you and I thought you loved me, too."  
  
Hyunjin feels his heart nearly come up through his mouth. He chokes on his own spit, coughing as he stares at the table. Seungmin just rolls his eyes at him, staring at the top of his head as he attempts to control himself.  
  
"You're what?"  
  
"I... Ugh! You heard me, Hyunjin. I thought you felt the same way. Being away from you this whole time made me realize it, but it's fine. I'll be sure not to--"  
  
"Wait! Shut up, Seungmin. That's not what I mean! I just didn't expect this! You're so casual!"  
  
Seungmin eyes the waitress approaching them. She stops dead in her tracks and turns around, as if warded off by some magic. He turns his eyes back to Hyunjin, who sits red-faced and looking panicked. "Why wouldn't I be casual about this? It's been over a year for me. You, and I'm assuming here so correct me if I'm wrong, feel the same way about me. Why shouldn't I be casual about this?"  
  
"Seungmin, this isn't how people--"  
  
"People also don't become best friends with their middle school bully and their lackey, but here we are. People also don't often like me, yet here we are. What did you expect, Hyunjin?"  
  
There's a moment of silence that falls between them. Hyunjin finally smiles at Seungmin, who just smiles back.  
  
"That's fair. I just-- Why here?"  
  
Seungmin shrugs. "I don't know. I just thought it was time."  
  
"You're not very romantic."  
  
"Did you expect anything different?"  
  
With a smile, Seungmin picks his menu back up. He places his hand on the table, holding it out for Hyunjin. The other takes it with a shaky hand, smiling dumbly.  
  
"Not really, Kim Seungmin. Not really."

**Author's Note:**

> [♡i'm seungshiny on tumblr!♡](http://seungshiny.tumblr.com)


End file.
